Lonesome Girl
by xXMoonlightXImperfectionsxX
Summary: She smiled even through the pain. She held everything back from everyone. She is abused both sexually and physically. But one boy. Her best friend might be the one who can save her or will it be too late? Rated M for Rape/Abuse CHAPTER 5 UPDATED 11/15/13
1. Chapter 1

LONESOME GIRL

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**A/N: **After about 2 years of Hiatus, I FINALLY rewrote Lonesome Girl. Sorry, took me so long. I had writer's block and no ideas seem to come to my head. I've changed a little and made the characters a little bit older. Hope you like it!

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CHAPTER 1

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Eight-year-old Sakura Haruno looked out the window of her small bedroom. Today was her last day of living in America for her father had accepted a promotion from his job and decided to move back to his hometown of Konoha, Japan. Sakura wiped away her tears.

She had mixed feelings of happiness and sadness. She was happy because she would get to start all over in a new city but she was unhappy because she was scared that no one would like her. Her classmates—because of her pink hair and her shy personality— would frequently bully Sakura. When she heard the news of about moving, she was delighted to go to another place and never face her classmates again.

-"SAKURA!" A voice bellowed from downstairs. Sakura reacted fast by leaping to her feet and rushing down. She stopped mid-way down the stairs when she saw her father holding up her coat.

-"How many times do I have to tell you not to leave your stuff lying around?" He demanded. Sakura gulped. He pulled her forward by yanking her hair.

-"Answer me!" He growled.

-"I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!" Sakura squeezed her eyes shut when her father smacked her hard on the face. He then put the coat over her face and pushed her down the steps. Sakura grabbed onto the railing to make the impact less hurtful. Sonomi Haruno appeared from the kitchen and tears welled up when she saw Sakura lying down on the hard ground and her husband standing there with a grim face.

-"Get up! It's not like it hurt." Sakura got up and rushed back to her room before her father could say more. She sat back down on her bed and tried to touch her cheek but it stung too much. It wasn't then until she realized that the fall from the stairs mad her nose bleed.

-"Let me clean that up." Mrs. Haruno said when she entered the room with a tissue. She dabbed her nose with the tissue and Sakura would often recoil from stinging.

-"Is daddy still mad?" Sakura asked after a moment of silence.

-"He just went to the bar. I'm sure he'll be calmer when he gets back. Get some sleep now. We have a big moving day tomorrow." Mrs. Haruno said as she tucked in Sakura. When she was done, she went to turn off the light.

-"Mommy?"

-"Yes?"

-"Does daddy love me?" Sakura asked. Sonomi bit her lip before faking a smile.

-"Of course. He loves all of us."

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-Konoha, Japan. Uchiha Residence-

-"Yo Sasuke! It's time to wake up now!" Eyes fluttered open and a boy with black hair and onyx colored eyes sat up. He yawned and looked up at his older brother, Itachi.

-"Ugh…it's still early, go away!" Sasuke put the covers over his head but Itachi pulled them away.

-"Your friends are here. They want you to come out play so get ready!" Itachi left Sasuke's bedroom. Sasuke groaned and got up. He brushed his teeth and got out his clothes. When he was done, he went downstairs and was greeted by a hyperactive blonde.

-"Teme! What took you so long?" Naruto asked. Neji and Shikamaru stood by side. Neji had his hands stuffed in his pockets and Shikamaru was still half-asleep.

-"Shut up. Why are you here so early anyways?" Sasuke asked as he rubbed his eyes. Naruto shrugged.

-"We heard that your folks are out for another business trip so we came to, you know…see how you were doing." Sasuke smirked because he saw right through the lie.

-"You just want to play with my new game system, don't you?"

-"NO! Never…maybe...just a little…please?" Naruto put on his puppy-dog face. Sasuke tilted his heads so his chin could face the stairs.

-"It's upstairs. Just go ahead and get it."

-"Awesome!" Naruto dashed up the stairs leaving the others behind. Neji sat down on a stair. Neji Hyuga was the son of Hizashi Hyuga who rivaled against the Uchihas but he and Sasuke were still best friends.

-"Hey Sasuke, you know that house right across the street from that's been for sale for like ages?"

-"Yeah, so?"

-"Well my dad was telling me that a family recently just bought. Apparently, they're from America but they're Japanese." Neji said. Shikamaru yawned before pulling out a juice box from his book bag.

-"So what does that have to do with me?" Sasuke asked. Neji looked at him with those famous Hyuga eyes.

-"They have a daughter who is our age." Sasuke rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead. This was something that he didn't want to hear.

-"Great! Now I have another fan girl but this time she is living right in my neighbor hood! When are they moving in?" Neji thought for a while. He remembered seeing the date when he took a peek at his dad's files. His father hated it when he peeped around like that.

-"I think the file said today. I'm not that sure." Right at that moment Naruto came down the stairs.

-"Thanks for letting me play with this, Teme!"

-"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. Naruto glared at him.

-"What's his problem?" He asked pointing a finger at Sasuke like a 3-year-old.

-"He's mad because a _girl _is moving right across the street so he's automatically assuming she'll like him." Shikamaru finally spoke. Naruto looked at Sasuke for a second before bursting into a fit of laughter. Sasuke was ready to punch him.

-"Is that all? Teme, stop thinking _all _girls will go crazy for you." Sasuke turned red.

-"Well they do! Every time I meet a girl they start liking me and pretty soon they are like a _fan girl._" Shikamaru nudged Sasuke right in the side.

-"Check it out; it's a moving truck." All four boys gathered near the window to watch the whole scene. A car pulled into the driveway and an adult couple came out. The backseat door opened and out came out a girl with short pink hair and green eyes. She held on tight a pink rabbit in her arms. The girl got out but tripped over a cord and landed flat on her stomach.

The boys laughed her clumsiness except for Naruto who felt quite bad for her. The older woman, whom the boys presumed to be her mother, came by her side and helped her up. Naruto could see blood trickling down the girl's left knee.

-"Oh my god! Did you see her face when she fell?" Sasuke laughed. Naruto scowled at his friends.

-"That's mean! What if she really hurt herself?"

"Not our problem." Neji replied. Naruto clenched his fists and sighed. Suddenly he lost the feeling to play with Sasuke.

-"I should get going now. Later guys." Naruto fixed his baseball cap and headed out the door.

-"Wait Naruto, I'll come with you. My house is in your direction." Shikamaru said. The boys left the house and Neji just stood next to Sasuke.

-"You mind if I stay for dinner? My dad's not coming 'till very late and I don't feel like eating with my uncle and cousin." Neji said. Sasuke shrugged.

-"I don't mind but why don't you like your cousin Hinata?" Sasuke asked even though he never really met the girl. They went to the same school but he never really bothered to hang out with anyone that was outside his circle of friends.

-"Nothing, it's just that she's quiet and boring. They have nothing fun at their house because Hinata's idea of "fun" is watering the garden in the back of her house."

-"Hn."

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-The Next Day-

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. _'I'm so ugly.' _She thought as she traced her finger against the small cut she received the night before. Her father had swiped his fork against her cheek because she forgot to leave the back door closed.

Sakura twirled a lock of her sort, choppy pink hair around her finger. Her green eyes weren't something she didn't like either. They were big and they held too much emotion and it made Skaura seem younger than eight.

-"I wish I was beautiful like my the stars on television." She said softly. Her knee had a big bandage on it from her fall yesterday. It didn't bleed as much as the one her father gives her but it stung. Sakura grabbed a maroon indoor jacket and walked downstairs. Her father was nowhere downstairs so that means he either still sleeping or out somewhere. Sakura found her mother the kitchen making breakfast.

-"Good morning, mommy." Sakura said brightly. Sonomi smiled. She placed a plate in front of her daughter.

-"Morning, sweetie. What do you think of Konoha?" Sakura nibbled on a bit of her toast.

-"Good I guess."

-"That's nice. You'll be starting school soon, you know?" Sakura stopped nibbling on her toast. Her eyes were disheartened and her smile was gone. Sonomi place a gentle hand on her shoulder.

-"I promise you that this school will be different. You can start fresh and make new friends." Sonomi softly said. Sakura looked at her.

-"New? I barely had any at my old school." Sonomi hugged her.

-"I know. That's why I think Japan is better. Much more suited for us." Sakura nodded before she pushed her plate.

-"I'm not really hungry. Can I go play outside? Can I? Please!" Sakura said.

-"Go ahead." Sakura smiled and pecked her mother on the cheek. She went to go get her favorite book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. (**A/N: **Does anyone remember that book? It was my favorite book when I was in 4th grade) Sakura went outside and sat down in her front door steps to read. She liked the atmosphere that Konoha gave off.

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-Sasuke's House-

Sasuke woke up when he felt the sun's ray peek through his eyelids. He yawned and looked out his window. His onyx eyes noticed Sakura sitting on her front steps, reading. He shook his head.

-"Just another fan girl." Sasuke went to the kitchen and ate his breakfast alone. Itachi was probably out with his friends. When Sasuke was done he went to his large living room to watch television. It wasn't long when a servant came up to him.

-"Sasuke-san, you're three friends have come to ask if you can play." The servant said. Sasuke looked past him and saw Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru by the doorway.

-"Let them in." Sasuke replied. The servant nodded and let the boys inside. Naruto was wearing his usual t-shirt, cargo shorts, and orange baseball cap.

-"Hey Teme!" Naruto exclaimed, playfully punching Sasuke in the arm. Sasuke punched him back. He looked back up at his other friends.

-"Guys, what do you want to do?" Shikamaru sat down by him.

-"Soccer? We haven't played it in a while." Neji and Naruto nodded happily and Sasuke smirked. He got up from the couch and took out his soccer ball from the closet.

-"Let's go to the front yard. My backyard is still under construction because _someone _decided to run my lawn mower throughout my yard." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto who decided to turn his attention to the floor and whistle. Around last month, Naruto had decided to get some extra cash by mowing the lawn and lost control of it when the smell of ramen distracted him.

-"Let's go then." Neji said. The boys exited the house and played their game in the front yard. Neji snatched the ball away from Sasuke and kicked it to Shikamaru who then passed it onto Naruto. It was 3 against 1 because Sasuke had experience playing soccer with professional coaches his parents had gotten him. But even with many players Sasuke was still winning. He was able to get the ball from Naruto and made it into the goal. When he got the ball again Naruto blocked him.

-"Try and get it past me, Sasu-chan." Sasuke growled under his breath.

-"I told you to stop calling me that!" He yelled, kicking the ball hard to enough to hit Naruto's head. But he didn't hear any complaining from Naruto. Instead he heard Neji's voice.

-"Look out!" Sasuke followed his friends' gazes. Across the street, on the grass face-first, was the little girl. The boys instantaneously ran to her. The girl sat up and started bawling.

-"We're so sorry! Teme is also sorry, right?" Naruto asked Sasuke while trying to console the girl. Sasuke didn't make a sound. Neji tried to humor the girl by making funny faces meanwhile Shikamaru inspected her for any injuries from the soccer ball. There was a bid red mark on her pale cheeks. Naruto patted her back as she kept crying. The front door opened and a man came put ignoring his weeping daughter. Shikamaru approached him.

-"Excuse me sir but your daughter is hurt." Toshi Haruno looked at Sakura with his regular grim face.

-"Stop your crying and go see if your mother can do anything." Sakura nodded and wiped away the tears with her forearm. She stood up and went inside the house without making any eye contact with the boys. Mr. Haruno gazed the boys for a second and went to the garden. The boys sat there flabbergasted.

-"Man, that guy was scary! He didn't care that his daughter was hurt!" Naruto said. Sasuke let out a 'humph' while he crossed his arms over his chest.

-"Let it go." He said returning back to his house. Neji caught up to him.

-"What's your problem?" He asked. Sasuke didn't answer. The other two followed him but stayed out in case she came out again plus apologize to her. Two hours went by and Sakura came out. When Naruto saw her he sprinted to her. Sakura saw him and immediately jerked away.

-"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Sorry about the soccer thing. Are you okay?" He asked. Sakura stared at Naruto up and down and saw that he was no threat. She nodded. Neji and Shikamaru came over dragging Sasuke along with them.

-"What's your name?" Shikamaru asked. Before Sakura could say her name she was interrupted by the sound of rumbling stomachs.

-"Aw man! I was so busy waiting for you I forgot to eat lunch!" Naruto complained. Neji and Shikamaru started complaining too. Sakura looked at them and took an out a small bag of cookies from her dress pocket. She handed them out to Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru. They thanked her and started munching on the cookies. Sakura tried to offer them to Sasuke but he didn't take any.

-"Take some, Teme!" Naruto said through munches.

-"No! I'm not going to take cookies from yet another fan girl who weak and nothing but a crybaby!" Sasuke shouted at her. Sakura blinked a few times before tears welled up in her eyes.

-"Nice going!" Shikamaru mumbled. The three of them started leave in their own direction. Naruto turned back to Sasuke.

-"For once in your life can't you be nice to girls? Especially fragile ones like her. She just wanted to hand you a cookie but you just snapped at her. You didn't even apologize to her when you hit her with the ball. You…you cold hearted jerk!" Naruto shouted before running away.

Sasuke stood in his place with clench fists at his sides. _Cold-hearted jerk _kept repeating in his mind. _'Am I really cold hearted?' _

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**To Be Continued…**

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**A/N: **Wow…two years of hiatus. Sorry everyone that it took me a long time. Like I said before, I had major writer's block. But now I decided to rewrite it. As you can tell, the style is a bit different. It's much longer and I combined chapters 1 and 2. I hope you like it. I'll update soon but I only update faster when I get enough reviews so I can if you all like it. I just hope you do.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW

Here's a preview of: Chapter 2

_-"You keep that piece and I'll keep the other as a sign that we'll befriends forever and ever. We must never take it off. Promise you'll never take it off?" Sasuke said holding out his pinky. Sakura nodded._

"_I promise." She hooked her pinky with his__._


	2. Chapter 2

LONESOME GIRL

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**A/N: **Please Review!

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CHAPTER 2

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Naruto's words still repeated over and over in Sasuke's head. He started to feel guilty and thought about going across the street to apologize but what could he say? Sasuke never really apologized to girl because normally a girl would be too in love with him that they wouldn't care what he did to them.

By Monday morning Sasuke barely got any sleep. He somehow got dressed, ate his breakfast, and got to school. When Sasuke entered his 3rd grade classroom and saw his friends. He waved but they only turned away further. Naruto stuck his tongue and continued on licking his lollipop. Sasuke sighed and went to his seat. His teacher came into the classroom with a bright smile on her face.

-"Class, we have a new student from America. I hope you welcome her with open arms. Come in, dear." Sasuke heard small footsteps entering the classroom but he didn't bother looking up. The girl had two braids in her short hair, light green tank top, and white Capri's. Most boys began whispering at how cute she was but other girls where whispering about the small gash across her cheek.

-"This is Sakura Haruno and she is very new to our country. Hope you all get along. You need a seat. Let's see….ah! Sasuke Uchiha, can you raise your hand?" Ms. Yakamora asked. Sasuke raised his hand while he looked out the window.

-"Sakura, sit in the seat next to him." The teacher said. Sakura nodded and sat in the seat. Sasuke took a small peek at the girl and almost fell over. It was the same girl from the soccer ball incident! Sakura kept her eyes glued to the ground so she didn't that it was Sasuke she was sitting next to. Naruto noticed her and moved his seat closer to her.

-"HI! Remember me?" Naruto must've surprised her because Sakura gasped, fell out of her seat and hid her eyes while trembling. Sasuke saw the panicked look on Naruto's face as his eyes darted back and forth from him to Sakura. He crouched down to Sakura's level.

-"It's ok. The Dobe didn't mean to scare you." Sasuke spoke softly. Sakura stopped trembling and gazed at Sasuke. He wasn't really good at consoling people but it worked a little. Naruto crouched down too.

-"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you but you still remember me, right?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded.

-"Yeah, you're the kid who kicked the soccer ball into my face." Naruto smiled.

-"Hey, you talk! That was Teme who did that. Not me."

-"Teme?"

-"Yeah, the guy next to you." Sakura averted her eyes back to Sasuke smiled a little. She smiled at him. They all went back into their seats. When the bell rang for lunchtime, students piled out of the classroom to get to the cafeteria. Sakura took her time to get there and made her way to an empty table. She took a few bites out of her sandwich that her mother had packed her. Ino, Tenten, and Matsuri noticed that she was alone so they went up to her table. Ino placed her lunch tray down. Ino smiled.

-"Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka? You're the new girl, right?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and nodded. Other girls had never really approached her.

-"Ino, don't scare her." Tenten said. Ino rolled her eyes as Matsuri extended her hand to Sakura.

-"I'm Matsuri and that's Tenten Ama."

-"Nice to meet you." Sakura shook her hand. Sasuke, who sat a few tables down noticed the girls bonding. He smiled lightly. _'At least she's doing fine.' _ Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze.

-"You know…Sakura-chan's pretty cute. I like her!"

-"You barely know her." Neji said. Naruto shrugged. Shikamaru sipped his milk and wiped it away with his sleeve.

-"We should invite her to sit at our table since she's alone." Shikamaru suggested. Naruto nodded excitedly.

-"Yeah! We could make her one of the guys!" Naruto said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

-"Doesn't sound like a bad idea." Neji said.

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-Recess-

Sakura sat in the swing watching the others play. She was used to being alone but she felt lonely without anyone to talk to. She wanted to talk the Ino and the others but she was scared that they would possibly reject her. She spotted Sasuke on the monkey bars with his others friends. She giggled at Naruto's pouting face. Three girls came over to her with frowns.

-"What a huge forehead she has!" One of them said. Sakura turned red. The other girl put her hands to her hips.

-"She is such a crybaby! I saw her crying in class." The last one yanked Sakura's hair.

-"You're so ugly, you know? I can't believe you're sitting next to Sasuke-kun! He was only nice to you because he pitied your ugliness." The three started pushed Sakura around the other smacked right on the mouth. Sakura bit her lip by accident. She could taste the blood in her mouth.

-"Go back where you came from." Sakura pushed the girls away and ran back into the school building. She grabbed her backpack and jacket and left the building without another word. It wasn't exactly sneaking out of school because after recess school was over. She ran to the local park. No one was around so she hid under the table so no one could see her. The girls couldn't have followed her but Sakura knows that her father passes by this area in his car from work.

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-"See you tomorrow, Teme!" Naruto said as he went inside Iruka's car. Sasuke waved good-bye. Naruto had no parents but Iruka has been taking care of him by taking him to school and back. He lived by himself but Iruka lived right next door in case anything happened. Sasuke decided to walk back home by himself so he took the longer way; the one that took him right through the Konoha Park. Sasuke was halfway through the park when he heard sniffling. He turned around saw a familiar jacket lying on the ground. He heard the sniffling from under a table right in the park.

-"Is it an animal?" He asked himself. Sasuke crouched down and saw Sakura under the table with blood trickling down from the corner of her lip.

-"What in the world are you doing here? Especially under the table?" He asked. Sakura hid her face with her hands.

-"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

-"I'm fine." Sakura said but it was muffled. Sasuke tried to pry away her hands.

-"Look, it's okay to cry. I'm not here to hurt you but you can't hide here forever. Come on, I'll help you out." Sasuke pulled her out from under the table. He used his shirtsleeve to wipe the blood away. Sakura kept her distance.

-"Hey."

-"What?"

-"I never got the chance to apologize for hitting you with the soccer ball…or say those mean things. I'm sorry. It's just that…a lot of girls like me because of my looks for because my family was rich. I thought you were one of them. I was wrong." Sakura smiled and laughed. Sasuke was surprised but his heart melted a little at her laugh.

-"It's fine but it was wrong for you to judge me like that." Sakura said. Sasuke smiled.

-"Yeah it was." Sakura told him about what happened during recess. It explained why she was hiding in the park the bloody lip. Sasuke patted Sakura's head.

-"Be right back!" He headed off the in the other direction.

-"Where are you going?" Sakura called out.

-"Stay right there! I'm going to go get something." Sasuke responded and disappeared in the shadow of the trees. Sakura fiddled with her hands. She sat on the bench waiting for Sasuke like he told her to. About 10 minutes later he came back with a bag in his hand. He was panting from all the running.

-"What is that?" Sakura asked pointing to the bag. Sasuke pulled out two necklaces. They were matching silver necklaces. One had a charm of a lock and other had a key.

-"My mom told me that if you give someone friendship necklaces then you'll be friends forever." Sasuke said. Sakura stared at him.

-"Friends?"

-"Yeah, you're my friend now aren't you." Sasuke asked. Sakura was speechless but she nodded anyway. He passed her the one with the key.

-"See? You have the key to my friendship." He said pointing to the one with the lock. Sakura put on the necklace and admired it. It was the first time ever that someone had given her something like this.

-"You keep that piece and I'll keep the other as a sign that we'll befriends forever and ever. We must never take it off. Promise you'll never take it off?" Sasuke said holding out his pinky. Sakura nodded.

"I promise." She hooked her pinky with his. Sasuke then headed home, as did Sakura. She clutched the necklace in her palm. They went in the same direction but they kept it quiet. Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eye. _'Naruto's right. Maybe being friends won't be s bad.' _

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-The Next Morning-

Sakura inspected the bruise that had formed over her eye. Last night, after she came home her father had accused her of stealing the necklace she had on her neck. He tried to pull it out but almost choked her death and punished her with a punch in the face. Sakura let out a shaky breath. She had to hide the necklace under her shirt so her father wouldn't see it again. Luckily, the red markings from her necklace had disappeared overnight. But the bruise had stayed. It was really awful since he had punched her while wearing his ring. It punctured the skin and it bled. Part of Sakura's pillow was soaked with blood but her mother was going to wash it later.

-"Time for school." Sakura whispered. She took her backpack with her and went to downstairs to the kitchen. She found a note on the table.

**Sakura,**

**Your father had a small accident and is in the hospital. I'm visiting so please get to school safely and have fun. **

**Sincerely,**

**Your mother **

She sighed and put the note in the trash. She fixed herself a bowl of cereal and went off to school. Usually on days like this she would stay at home but for now home seemed like the nightmare instead of school. On the bus, Sakura felt eyes on her and in school when she entered the school. She did her best to ignore them. When she entered her classroom, she was happy that it was empty. Sakura went her desk and sat down. She used her textbook to hide her face. Naruto skipped into the room and hung his coat up. He saw pink hair so he instantly knew who it was.

-"Good morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

-"Good morning." Sakura murmured. Naruto stared at the book blocking her face. He pushed the book away from her.

-"Hey, I can't see you when you have—what happened to your eye?" Naruto practically shouted. Sakura looked away. She couldn't tell him that her father had punched her. Naruto grabbed her chin and tilted her face back to him.

-"Look at me. What happened to your eye? You can tell me." Naruto softly said. Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears.

-"My dad did it! He punched me yesterday and told me that I was a thief and…and…I'm sure he didn't mean it! He was just angry. Please don't tell anyone! Please!" Naruto hugged Sakura. She buried her face in his chest as he patted her back.

-"It's okay, Sakura-chan. But we need to tell someone! He's—what that word again?—abuse! Yeah, he's abusing you!" Sakura pulled away.

-"No Naruto. If you tell then I would be taken and he would go to jail!"

-"But wouldn't that be a good thing?"

-"No, because I'll make my mommy unhappy. Promise me that this'll stay between you and me." Sakura said. She held out her pinky finger.

-"I—."

-"Promise me!"

-"Okay, I'm promise." Naruto hooked his pinky with hers. He regretted making this promise but he saw how much Sakura wanted it to be a secret.

-"What about your? Teme's bound to ask questions." Naruto asked.

-"I'll tell him that accidentally got it with a baseball playing with my dad or something."

-"Okay. But Sakura-chan, you should know that I'm not good at lying to my friends."

-"Please Naruto! If anyone finds out then I won't ever see you again." Sakura pleaded. She looked at him with tears brimming her eyes. Naruto blushed a little.

-"I'll try." He said. Sakura smiled and sat back down in her seat. Students started coming into the classroom. Neji and Shikamaru walked in. They saw Naruto with Sakura so they walked up towards them.

-"'Morning Saku—what happened to your eye?" Neji asked. _'That's the same reaction I had.' _Naruto thought. Shikamaru widened his eyes when he saw Sakura's.

-"That's some shiner." He whistled.

-"I was playing baseball with my dad and I got with ball. I'm so clumsy." Sakura half-laughed.

-"Oh. Did it hurt?" Neji asked.

-"It did. Excuse me, I'm going to go the bathroom." Sakura left the classroom before Sasuke came in. He was the last one to.

-"Hi, Teme!" Naruto greeted not trying to sound suspicious.

-"Hi, where's Sakura?"

-"Bathroom." Shikamaru answered. Sasuke looked at Naruto who looked very uncomfortable.

-"Looks like you're hiding something." Sasuke said. Naruto jumped in his seat.

-"W-w-what do you mean by that?" He asked. Sasuke looked at Naruto right in the eye. Sasuke chuckled and thumped Naruto right on the shoulder.

-"You probably took some of my lunch money to buy ramen, didn't you?"

-"Yeah! That's it! I took your lunch money. Sorry Teme." Naruto tried to laugh but it came out very squeaky.

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-Bathroom-

Sakura dried her hands with a paper towel. She tried to come into the bathroom so she can prepare herself to be in front of Sasuke. _'I hope Naruto doesn't say anything to Sasuke-kun. If daddy finds out then he might kill me like he told me 3 years ago.' _

**FLASHBACK**

5-year-old Sakura was eating her dinner in the kitchen when she heard thunder outside. She was home alone due to the fact her mother was on a business trip and her father was at the bar.

-"I better shut the windows." At a young age, Sakura was pretty responsible. Sakura shut all the windows and sat down on the couch to watch some television. The front door opened and her Toshi came in along with a woman in _very _revealing clothing. He glared at Sakura who was gawking at them.

-"Don't disturb while upstairs, do you understand me?" He asked. Sakura nodded. Toshi and the woman started making out. Sakura's jaw dropped.

-"Daddy, you're cheating on mommy." Toshi Haruno glared.

-"So? You aren't the boss of me." Toshi took off his belt and began whipping Sakura with it. When he was done, Sakura was sprawled on the floor crying.

-"Tell your mother anything and I'll kill you." Toshi put his belt away and went upstairs with the lady.

-"Wasn't that kind of harsh?" Sakura heard the woman asked.

-"Nah, she ain't my kid anyway. She's from my wife's previous marriage." Toshi lied.

**END FLASHBACK**

Since that day, Sakura has never mentioned it. She went back to her classroom and sat in her usual seat. She smiled at Sasuke.

-"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said.

-"Good morning." Sasuke replied. He turned his head and his eyes widened.

-"What happened to your eye? It's bruised!" Sasuke said.

-"Really, I didn't notice." Naruto muttered but Shikamaru smacked him on the head. Sakura faked a smile and laughed.

-"Just a baseball accident. No worries." She said.

-"No worries? Are you sure? A hit in the eye could blind you." Sakura nodded.

-"Don't worry about it." The bell rang indicating that class was starting. Sakura let out a sigh of relief. _'Talk about saved by the bell.' _Teachers and students asked about her eye but Sakura told the same lie. Naruto kept his promise and didn't say a word. After school, the guys and Sakura went to the park.

-"Here Sakura-chan!" Naruto placed a blue baseball cap on Sakura's head.

-"What's this for?" Sakura asked.

-"You're one of us! So we decided to give you something special." Neji answered. Yet they were all unaware of the necklace that Sasuke had given her.

-"Cool! Thanks everyone!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto passed out some sodas.

-"But in order to be one of the guys you have to burp like one. Like this." Naruto sipped his soda and let out a burp.

-"Try it." Shikamaru said. Sasuke smirked at her so Sakura tried. She drank her soda and let out a burp that beat Naruto's. The guys clapped for her.

-"Perfect!" Naruto said. Sasuke looked at her hair.

-"Your short choppy hair is fine. Not too girly and not too boyish." Sakura was unsure whether to take it as a compliment.

-"Let's play some tag!" Naruto suggested. The rest of the time they spent was playing tag. Eventually the guys tackled each other to teach Sakura how to get dirty. The end of the game covered Sakura in dirt and a few cuts on her right leg. The guys were all dirty too so they ended it to go home. Sakura was about to take off the hat to give it back to Naruto but he shook his head.

-"No, you keep it. It's yours." Naruto said. Sakura smiled and headed on home with Sasuke.

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Sakura went inside her house but stared at the suitcases at the bottom of the stairs. Sonomi came out from the kitchen.

-"Sakura, I have bad news." Sonomi said.

-"What is it?" Sakura asked hoping it wasn't her worst nightmare.

-"I'm being sent overseas for a business trip." Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. _'Business trip?' _Sakura started to burst into tears as she rushed up to hug her mother's waist.

-"No! You can't leave me here! Please, don't go!" She sobbed. Sonomi rubbed her back.

-"Look at me. Hey, look at me." Sakura looked at her mother. "It's only for a week. I'll be back but I need for you to be a brave girl, okay? Can you handle that?"

-"Yes." Sakura sniffed.

-"Good." Sonomi embraced her daughter very tightly before a cab's honk interrupted them.

-"Be good a girl for mommy. Whatever happens…never stop staying strong." Sonomi tearfully said good-bye and left. Sakura stopped her crying.

-"I need to be brave. Please god, help me." Sakura whispered. For the next few hours Sakura ate her dinner early and watched television upstairs in her own bedroom. She heard Toshi walk into the house, eat some dinner, and went to his own room to sleep. He must've gone out drinking. Sakura hid under her covers hoping sleep would consume her soon. She closed her eyes…

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! **

Sakura sat straight up. It was another thunderstorm. Sakura heard another clap of thunder and rushed under her bed. She covered her ears and whimpered. _'Mommy would usually come and comfort me but daddy will just tell me to go to sleep.' _Sakura took a quick peek at her clock. It read 3:42 am; another reason why she couldn't wake him up.

-"What do I do?" Sakura whimpered. An idea struck her. She slipped on sneakers, took a jacket and small blanket. She went outside of her house. The rain completely soaked her.

-"Sasuke-kun told me where Naruto lives so I'll just go there." Sakura wanted to go to Sasuke's house because it was much closer but then that would mean explaining why she couldn't go to her own father. Sakura found her way to Naruto's apartment complex. A few times, she would run faster when thunder was heard. She knocked on Naruto's door. _'Please answer. Please answer. Please answer.' _The door opened to reveal a sleep Uzumaki.

-"Sakura-chan?! What are you doing here? In the rain? At this time?" Naruto asked letting Sakura in.

-"Thunder scares me. I came because I couldn't stay at home. Sorry, if I'm disturbing you." Sakura said.

-"Not at all. You can stay. I'll take the couch and you can take my bed." Sakura tackled her friend into a hug.

-"Thank you Naruto-kun!"

-"Your welcome. I'll show you to my room." Naruto led Sakura to his bedroom. She noticed how this apartment was one-bedroom.

-"Do you live alone?" Naruto nodded.

-"Yeah, I have no parents but Iruka takes care of me. But I still live alone because that's the way I like. He's right next door so nothing bad happens."

-"Loneliness is very bad, isn't it?" Sakura asked.

-"Yeah. Well good-night, Sakura-chan."

-"Wait!"

-"Hm?

-"I don't want to sleep alone in this room? Can you please stay?" Sakura implored. Naruto saw the expression of fear on her face so he smiled softly.

-"Of course, Sakura-chan. This'll be like a sleepover!" Both of the got in the bed and under the covers. Naruto ruffled Sakura's hair.

-"Ne, Sakura-chan."

-"Yeah?"

-"Whenever you need to talk to someone or need a place to stay…you can always come to me. My door's open for you anytime."

-"Okay." Sakura's thoughts when to Sasuke. She felt bad that she was hiding things from him but if she told him then he would probably tell someone. Sakura shook her head and tried falling into a peaceful sleep.

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-Saturday Morning-

The sun's rays peeked through the blinds. Sakura opened her eyes. She almost shrieked when she saw Naruto next to her but last night's memories flooded her mind.

-"That's right. Last night it was raining." Sakura said. She saw Naruto sleeping peacefully and she smiled. She slowly crept out of the room. Once she was in the living room, Sakura wrote a note explaining why she left early. She left it on the kitchen table and went her way.

-"Please don't let daddy be awake." Sakura prayed, as she got closer to her home. When she arrived at her house, she was hesitant to turn the knob and open the front door. She opened it sighed. Her father wasn't in living room so hopefully he was still asleep. All that hope was crushed when Sakura passed the kitchen.

-"Where have you been?" Toshi asked. Sakura stiffened and turned. Toshi was sitting on a kitchen chair, smoking. He looked very irritated. Sakura gulped.

-"I was out with a friend."

-"In your pajamas?" Sakura bit her lip. She couldn't lie to him. He was very good at figuring out things but extremely violent. Toshi got up.

-"So you sneak out in the middle of the night, in your pajamas, to go see a friend? You little conniving bitch." Toshi grabbed a handful of Sakura's hair and pulled her forward. She let out a small cry.

-"I'm sorry." She said below a whisper. Toshi caressed her cheek.

-"Poor child. Maybe you can make it up to me for leaving your own daddy." Toshi pushed Sakura to the couch. She landed in an awkward position.

-"Get undressed."

-"What?!"

-"You'll make it p to me with your body." Toshi said. Sakura was too frightened to move to Toshi leaned over her and ripped her nightshirt in half. Sakura tried to cover her chest but he pulled her arms away.

-"Do it or I'll hurt you." Toshi warned already unbuckling his belt. Sakura pulled her pants down and slowly pulled down her underwear. She wanted to so badly scream for help but she cried silently. Toshi's eyes admired the sight in front of him. He started to grope her and even tried to feel around her chest.

-"Hmm, a few more years and your chest will be just right." Toshi kicked Sakura's clothes to her. "Get dressed."

-"Okay." Sakura said shakily. She put on her clothes and ran upstairs, locking the door of her bedroom. Sakura leaned against the door and slid down the door. She bawled in her hands not bothering to cover her mouth so he wouldn't hear. Sakura walked to her window and watched Toshi climb into his car and drive away. Sakura threw her shoe at the window with all force.

-"I hate you!" She cried. She threw more stuff and even threw a snow globe that she got for Christmas last year. Sakura gripped a shard of glass and felt a cut. She opened her hand and saw the blood smearing her hand. Her sobs subsided.

-"I wonder." Sakura took the shard of glass and pressed against her pale skin. She pressed it harder and made a big gash across. She gritted her teeth at the pain and saw the blood trickle down her arm. Sakura smiled a little.

-"At least this is some pain I can control." She murmured. She started to add a few more cuts and before she could another the phone rang. Sakura ran to her phone.

-"Hello?"

-"Is Sakura there?"

-"Sasuke-kun?"

-"Hi Sakura. Do you want to come over my house? The guys are coming over with some video games to play. They all want you to come." Sasuke asked. Sakura glanced her cuts.

-"Sure."

-"Are you okay? You sound like you've been crying. Did something happen?" Sakura looked at her window where she had a clear view of Sasuke's house. The corner of her lips turned into a smile.

-"Yeah…just fine. I'll be right over."

-"Okay. Bye." Sasuke hung up. Sakura put her phone down and cleaned up the bloody mess. She added some band-aids to her arms and hid it by wearing a shirt with semi-long sleeves. Before leaving Sakura took a long look in the mirror.

-"Even God has abandoned me."

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**To Be Continued…**

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**A/N: **Thank you for all the reviews. Now most of you have been asking whether or not Sasuke and Sakura will grow up. Yes, they will. This story will take place while time passes. Now Sakura has started cutting. Is she going to keep doing it? Find out by reading more of the chapters. Hope you all liked it!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW

Here's a preview of: Chapter 3

_-"What do you mean there wasn't a business trip?" Sakura demanded. Mr. Takashiro rubbed his temples. _

_-"Just answer the question." Sasuke said. _

_-"What I mean is that Sonomi Haruno has asked for a leave of absence two days ago so she isn't on a business trip." Mr. Takashiro replied. Sakura whipped around to look at Sasuke. _

_-"She lied to me." _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW

**8 years later…**

-"Sakura! Get your ass down here, you worthless piece of shit!" Sakura glared at the doorway as she clenched her fists into tight balls.

-"What the fuck do you want?" She screamed back at her father, but there was no answer. _'Tch, old man must be passed out again.' _She thought to herself. Sakura looked at the mirror quickly. She scowled at her long hair. It's been a while since she's had a haircut. Eight years have passed and she was still stuck in her hellhole of a home with Toshi. _'Mom…'_ Tears welled up in her eyes just thinking about that fateful day.

**Flashback:**

_-"Come one Sasuke! I want to see when my mommy gets back so I can make her a gift." Sakura pouted to her best friend. Sasuke sighed. _

_-"Jeez…do we have to? I don't think my mom will like it if we go that far..."_

_-"It won't take long. I promise! We can take the bus if you want so we don't get caught." Sasuke saw how eager she was to see about her mother. Sakura always spoke so tenderly about her mother; her own protector. Sasuke let out a sigh and ruffled Sakura's hair._

_-"Fine…but you owe me Haruno!"_

_-"Deal now let's go slowpoke!" Sakura grabbed Sasuke's hand and led him away. One bus ride later, they arrived at Sonomi's workplace. Sasuke felt uneasy with all the stares considering they were just children but he brushed them off. He only wanted to get Sakura there safely and get back home before anyone noticed they were gone. _

"_Are you dumb or something," He asked Sakura. "I think you're supposed to look for the boss or somebody. You're headed the wrong way, dum-dum." Sakura shot a glare at Sasuke. She hated that nickname he gave her. _

_-"I knew that!" She quickly jerked left. _

_-"Wrong way…that's the bathroom." Sasuke smirked. _

_-"Shut up!" Sasuke stuck his tongue out at Sakura but then saw some man looming over Sakura. He seemed middle-aged but dressed very business-like. However, his facial expression did not show content. _

_-"This is not a playground, children. Where are your parents? Honestly..careless parents these days! They let their kids run around like wild animals." Sasuke didn't like the tone of his man and quickly went in front of Sakura._

_-"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I'm eight years old and not a kid. I'll have you know that we took the bus here."_

_-"Sasuke-kun…that's not really helping." Sakura interjected. "My name is Sakura Haruno and I'm looking for my mother; Sonomi Haruno." The man's expression changed slightly._

_-"I see. Well, my name is Mr. Takashiro. Sonomi Haruno, you say? Yes she's not here anymore." _

_-"But she's supposed to be on a business trip." Sakura said. Mr. Takashiro chuckled._

_-"Little girl…I don't know what your mother has been telling you but my company does not do business trips. Not really my thing. Too much money to spend and the responsibility of taking of someone else's medical expenses in case f emergencies are just too much." _

_-" What do you mean there wasn't a business trip?" Sakura demanded. Mr. Takashiro rubbed his temples._

_-"Just answer the question." Sasuke said._

_-"What I mean is that Sonomi Haruno has asked for a leave of absence two days ago so she isn't on a business trip." Mr. Takashiro replied. Sakura whipped around to look at Sasuke. _

_-"She lied to me." _

**End Flashback**

Later, it was revealed that Sonomi had secretly taken out a passport for some other country. She has attempted to make contact with Sakura but Toshi forbade any form of communication. When Sakura turned twelve she, along with Naruto and Sasuke, she was able to hack into Toshi's computer and find all information about Sonomi; every email and bits of background info. Apparently, she now lives in the United States, remarried, and started another family of her own.

Sakura never once thought about making contact with her. Not even when Toshi surprised her by saying that her mother had called for her birthday and holidays. Her own mother had abandoned her with some monster. Sakura often asked herself why Sonomi never considered taking her with her but she still wasn't bound to call and ask her. She prefers to tell people that her mother is dead because in a sense, Sonomi Haruno _is _dead to her.

-"Well I better head to school now." Sakura grabbed her and swiftly escaped through the back window of her bathroom. She didn't want to risk facing Toshi that morning.

Walking down the street, Sakura looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her before slipping behind a bush.

-"I promised myself I wouldn't do this for a while until the scars healed but…I need this." She pulled up her sleeve revealing fresh cuts on her pale arm. Those were from last night but it still wasn't enough. She needed her kit that was in her backpack. It contained razors, knives, band aids, and even anti-septic just in case they would get infected. It was crazy how addicted she got to cutting for about eight years now. She started soon after Toshi had take advantage of her. Since then, things had never been the same for her. She started cutting, Toshi would have his way with her weekly unless she was lucky and he went to some other random girl for it.

-"Yo Sakura! Are you gonna hide behind the bushes forever or do you need a ride?" Sakura whipped her head around and was relieved to only see Gaara and motorbike.

-"Yeah, be right there." She quickly rolled down her sleeves and hopped on Gaara's bike to ride to school. They were silent the whole way until they reached the school parking lot.

-"Hey, they're looking again." Gaara growled. Sakura didn't have to look to know who he was talking about. It was Sasuke and his circle of friends. After she was raped, Sakura couldn't bear to tell Sasuke and basically isolated herself to the point that Sasuke just gave up. Eventually as they transitioned into high school, they were different people. She was no longer that shy but instead started to hang out with the wrong crowd. Occasionally Naruto would act as the go-between and make an effort to get Sakura back with them. But rumors spread and Sakura was getting used to the disapproving looks her _old _friends would give her. Who wouldn't? Her grades were horrendous and she was always the subject of talk among her peers.

-"Ignore them." Sakura bit her lip and tried to change the subject. "So how is that tattoo? Didn't it hurt to get it right on your forehead?"

-"This? No not at all. My parents are still freaked about it but who gives a shit." Gaara laughed. Gaara was the only guy Sakura could actually talk to. He understood her about messed up parents and was an outcast just like her.

-"That's cool. I'm thinking about getting a lip piercing. Wanna come with me? I'll treat you to a burger later or something." Gaara nodded and Sakura smiled. She was happy to have at least one friend.

Sasuke eyed Sakura the whole time she was talking with that freak Gaara. It made his blood boil how Sakura was hanging around with that guy. After all, he blamed Gaara as for the reason why Sakura was now a different person. One day they were the best of friends and the next, it was as if someone had replaced her with someone else. Someone so cold and distant instead of the sweet, shy girl Sasuke was neighbors with. He also blamed it on Sakura's mother for deserting her when she needed her the most. Things were really messed up from then on.

-"Come on Uchiha. I don't think staring anymore intently is gonna make Sakura turn around and come back to us. It's been eight years." Neji said. Although he didn't say much about it, Neji was truly hurt when Sakura changed too. She never judged him and was always making him smile. He also knew how much Sasuke cared for Sakura but obviously feelings alone were going to change Sakura's mind. She has chosen her own path.

-"I know that already!" Sasuke stormed off the other way. Naruto watched Sasuke go into the school.

-"Poor Teme. It's been eight years and he still wants Sakura-chan to come back. I know he does." Shikamaru patted Naruto's shoulder.

-"You still talk to her, right? Try again to persuade her to come and talk to us."

-"I don't know…Sakura-chan isn't really the same Sakura-chan we knew. You'd know if you ever talk to her. Its' like someone sucked the life out of her. I know that sounds dramatic but I'm telling you the truth." Naruto's voice cracked a little.

-**In Class-**

-"Hey forehead girl! I heard that you got laid pretty good last night from some random guy. Typical whore." Ino mocked. Sakura smirked at her ex-blond headed friend.

-"What's the matter Ino? Jealous that you can't get any yourself?" Of course, Ino wasn't wrong. Sakura did have a one night stand except it wasn't some random guy. She had met him before but that was the first time they got so intimate.

-"Please! Why would I hook up with some guy I don't know? Only a slut would do that." Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder. Hinata sat beside her but didn't say a word. She couldn't stand to see Sakura and Ino at it again but at the same time, it almost didn't matter. It was so hard to call Sakura a friend anyway. She had become so cold and even insulted Hinata behind her back.

-"Whatever, Ino-Pig. Oh watch it…I see some muffin top coming out of your jeans. You don't want to ruin the figure of yours right?" Sakura snickered to herself. Before Ino could say something back, Kakashi-sensei walked right by to hand back their tests. He handed Sakura hers back.

-"Ms. Haruno…I just can't see why you're not passing. You're already failing this class. I expect to see you after school for a brief discussion on your marks. I might have to call your father this time." Sakura's eyes widened.

-"No…not Toshi. I don't need Toshi here."

-"Your father is coming whether you want to or not. Your education is important." Kakashi shot back.

-"Fuck you." Everyone gasped and silence filled the room. Even Kakashi couldn't believe his own ears.

-"Excuse me?"

-"You heard me, old man." Sakura crossed her arms. Kakashi clenched his fists before regaining his composure. The bell rang in less then five seconds but no student moved. They all wanted to see what Kakashi sensei was up to.

-"Students…I understand your curiosity but out now! Except for you, Haruno." All the students piled out except for Sakura. She was getting mad too but she didn't leave her seat. Kakashi took a sharp intake of breath.

-"Sakura…what has happened to you? I distinctly remember you as somebody different when I first got to know you as a little girl."

-"Why should I answer to you? Listen Kakashi, people change. Get used to it." Sakura refused to meet Kakashi's eyes.

-"It's Kakashi-sensei. Remember, I'm still a figure of authority therefore you treat me with respect."

-"Respect? Don't make me laugh." Sakura scoffed. Kakashi stared at Sakura for a while longer. He had no idea whether this was just teenage rebellion or something else was wrong.

-"If you fail this class or any other class for that matter, then you will have to retake them in summer school or not pass. Remember, one more year and you're out of here. Why can't you do that?" Sakura's ears perked up a little.

-"Summer school? I don't have that kind of money. And I can't stay here either. Why can't I just drop out? Seem much easier."

-"Because you need parental permission for that and I'm sure your father doesn't seem to agree with that. Come to think of it, he never answers my emails. Listen Sakura, I'm trying to help you." Kakashi placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled. She went rigid for a moment. _'Even Toshi doesn't say that. And he's my own dad.' _

-"Can I go now?" Sakura murmured. She brushed off Kakashi's hand and didn't wait for answer before leaving the classroom. Kakashi didn't bother to say a word because he knew something seemed different. She wasn't being violent or put up a fight.

-"Aye…things were simpler when I was a teenager." He shook his head.

-**Haruno Home-**

It was late at night but Sakura was still up. She was sitting upright on her bed with her knees brought to her chin. She never met up with Gaara and even ignored every text message she had received from anyone. She wasn't in the mood just yet. For about an hour, she had been looking through pictures of her mom on the internet. They were old pictures that she was able to salvage from an old camera. Still photos of the good times almost brought tears to her eyes.

'_I don't even know that girl anymore. Who is Sakura Haruno anymore? She is just a little girl lost.' _Sakura looked to the right of her window. She could clearly see Sasuke's house from that angle. Strange…how close they live but still so far away. But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door slam downstairs and footsteps coming up. She could tell that they were headed towards her room but it was too late to lock the door. _'Shit..'_ Toshi ran right into the room almost slamming the door right into the wall.

-"It's past your bedtime."

-"I'm 16. I can do whatever I want." Sakura responded, her voice barely audible.

-"Oh really? Well in this house, there consequence, sweetie. You know what to do. NOW!" Sakura's heart rate increased. She knew exactly what he wanted but it was no use to fight back. She got out of bed and started to unbutton her top. It didn't matter anymore because there was no more innocence to take out of her. No one can save her.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: **I'm baaaaaaaaack haha :) Sorry for the long wait but I FINALLY updated! Yay. Sorry if it seems short or a little rushed but that's because I've been trying to finish this before this night ended. I hope to see reviews from everyone and feel free to yell at me. I'll update my other stories very soon. If I can. No promises.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW

Here's a preview of: **Chapter 4 **

_-"You said you wanted to help me, right? Then fuck me. Come on…I'm practically throwing myself at you with almost no clothes." Sakura felt her whole body shake as she tried to take off her shirt but Kakashi grabbed hold of hands to stop her. _

_-"My god Sakura…I am not going to sleep with you for money." _


	4. Chapter 4

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Sakura stared up at the rotating ceiling fan. The sun's rays peeked out from behind the blinds and birds were chirping. It was morning. She titled her head to side to make sure that her father was still asleep. Gingerly, she crept out of his bed, gathered her clothes, and tiptoed out of there. Back in her room, Sakura locked the door and slid down the door with her backside. She brought her knees up to her chin and sobbed.

-"I can't take this anymore." She sniffled. She wiped her nose with the sleeve of her shirt and got up to take her cutting kit out. _'Damn. I'm out of band-aids.'_ Sakura closed her kit and contemplated if she should go out now to the store and get some or wait until later. If she were to wait later then that would run the risk of Toshi waking up and beating her again. Sakura put on clean clothes and secretly left the house. Unfortunately, she had to pass Sasuke's house all the time since they were neighbors. She dreaded even looking at the Uchiha home; a place where she used to feel safe hanging out with her friends. Her _old _friends.

-"Sakura-chan?" A melodic voice called out breaking Sakura's thoughts. She looked over and saw Sasuke's mother outside in the garden, waving to her. "Sakura-chan! I haven't seen you in so long." She approached Sakura and pulled her into a tight embrace. _'She smells like vanilla.'_ Sakura closed her eyes and inhaled the fragrance but then broke the embrace.

-"Hi Uchiha-san." Sakura bowed. Even if she was cold to Sasuke, she never brought herself to treat Mikoto Uchiha the same way. She was always sweet to Sakura and never gave her that disapproving look Sasuke and the others gave her. Mikoto blinked.

-"Oh Sakura-chan, please call me Mikoto. Uchiha-san makes me feel old." She winked. Sakura smiled weakly.

-"Mikoto. I have to go to the store but—" _Grrroowwwl. _Sakura gasped and put a hand over a her stomach. _'Crap. I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday.' _Mikoto put her arm over Sakura's shoulder.

-"Come inside and eat something. I still have some food left from breakfast!"

-"I-I-Inside? I can't." Sakura panicked. Mikoto lowered her voice.

-"Don't worry, sweetheart. Sasu-chan and the others aren't home. It's just me. Now, come with me." Mikoto led Sakura into the house. Sakura felt a bit better knowing that Sasuke wasn't home. She could only imagine the horror if Sasuke were to find her in his house. He would be so angry. Mikoto eyed Sakura carefully. She was rigid and had this frightened expression on her face but allowed herself to be led to the kitchen. It came as a surprise to Mikoto when Sakura stopped coming to her house and Sasuke stopped talking about her. He even evaded the topic whenever Mikoto inquired about her. At first she thought it was just a fight among children but then one day she overheard Sasuke and his friends discussing about Sakura and found out that it was much more than that. Even so, she was determined to avoid making judgments about Sakura and try to help her out in whatever way she could. Not to mention, she knows that Sasuke misses his best friend. Like how he always spaces out during breakfast when he stares out the window of their kitchen where he has a clear view of Sakura's house, or how he still had the picture of him and Sakura as children taped secretly to his desk. Mikoto never said anything about it when she found that picture.

-"So Sakura-chan, how are you?" Mikoto asked, serving some pancakes on a plate. Sakura fidgeted in her seat. It has been so long since she was last in this house. Nothing much has changed except for a few new knick-knacks here and there but everything else was the same.

-"Uh…good. What about you?" Sakura forced a smile. Mikoto pushed the plate of pancakes in front of Sakura and then passed her the syrup. Sakura pierced a chunk of pancake with her fork and took a bite. It was like heaven.

-"Great. I'm trying to start a baking business but so far no luck." Mikoto sighed sadly. Sakura swallowed.

-"Why? These pancakes are amazing. I'm sure anyone would love your baking. You always made the best muffins." Sakura gushed, surprised by her own enthusiasm. Mikoto smiled.

-"You were always a fan of my baking. I remember how you used to be my little helper when you were over." She put down her cup of coffee. "It's just difficult because I don't have enough people to help me. It's just me and I don't want to waste Fugaku's money when it's _my _business." Sakura nodded understandingly. There was a comfortable silence between them. Mikoto placed a hand over Sakura's.

-"Sakura-chan, honey, I may not know what is going on in your private life but if you ever need to talk, I'm here. Sasuke doesn't have to know." Mikoto said lovingly. Sakura was startled by the gesture and tried to regain her composure.

-"I'm fine." She tried to convince Mikoto.

-"I don't believe you are." Sakura pulled her hand away.

-"Look, I am fine. I don't know what Sasuke has told you but there's nothing going on. My father is just going through a tough time, but I can take care of myself. I don't need people helping me."

-"Your father? I never said anything about your father…and Sasuke doesn't talk about you." Sakura's eyes widened. She has said too much.

-"I—I –I gotta go!"

-"Wait, Sakura—!" Sakura jumped out of her seat and ran towards to the door. Without looking, she opened the door and tried to run out as fast as she could but she bumped right into someone. Strong arms kept her from falling backwards. Shocked onyx eyes met with equally astounded emerald ones.

-"Sakura?" Sasuke said Sakura's name with a gasp. "I can't believe—what…what are you doing here?" Sakura pushed Sasuke away from her and glared at him.

-"Get out of my way, Uchiha." She spat before running across the yard and back into her house. Sasuke stood on the front steps. He had to process what just happened. Sakura Haruno. In his house. Why? Mikoto put her hand on her son's shoulder. Sasuke looked at her questioningly.

-"Why was she in our house?" He asked. Deep down, he was hoping that maybe she was there to set things right but he dismissed that thought because of what just had occurred.

-"I invited her for breakfast."

-"Willingly? But she hasn't been to our house in years."

-"Sasuke, I think Sakura-chan is hurting."

* * *

Sakura paced back and forth in her room. She was scolding herself for revealing too much about Toshi. It wasn't much but enough for Mikoto to possibly suspect that he's abusing her _'Stupid!' _She also reprimanded herself for running out like that making it more suspicious. Sakura curled up into fetal position on her bed.

-"I have to avoid the Uchihas at all costs." She decided. Sakura sat up and texted someone on her phone. "I need some stress relief and there's only one person that can do that."

* * *

Gaara waited outside of Sakura's house in his car. He started the car again when he saw Sakura sneaking out of her bedroom and heading towards the car. It was nighttime and Sakura was technically not allowed out but it didn't matter because Toshi was always at the bar. The fact that she had to sneak out indicated that Toshi was home. Gaara didn't like that.

-"You don't have to do this." He said when Sakura entered the car.

-"Shut up." Sakura replied. "I have your back and you have mine, remember? So drive." Gaara backed out of the drive way and kept on driving. He lit a cigarette.

-"Yeah but this is dangerous." He said calmly.

-"Well I know that you won't do it with me so I have to find other people." Sakura checked herself out in the mirror. Gaara shook his head.

-"Well I didn't know you personally enough and I was really drunk. Besides, I don't like having sex with my friends. That's just cruel." He smirked. Sakura stuck out her tongue. That was how she met Gaara. She was 14 years old and she snuck out to a go clubbing. Gaara happened to be there and after a couple of shots and heavy flirting, he and Sakura had sex in one of their friend's car. Afterwards, they met each other a couple more times just to have sex but they soon they became friends and the sex just stopped. Sakura didn't mind that. She liked having Gaara as a friend. They would sneak out together, smoke, and share events that has happened in their lives due to their dysfunctional home lives.

-"Exactly. So I that means I'll have to find another way." Sakura adjusted her skimpy dress. It was too revealing for her taste but that was the only to get to the attention she craved.

-"Remember if you need me, just call me and I'll pick you up right away. No questions asked." Gaara reminded. Sakura didn't answer but he knew she heard him. "So who are you meeting this time?" Sakura unfolded a crumpled piece of paper.

-"Sai. He didn't give out his last name." Gaara frowned.

-"That sounds sketchy."

-"I don't really care. If I get killed…well then…whatever."

* * *

**-1 hour later-**

-"My clothes…" Sakura grumbled. She groped around the floor looking for her dress. Sai sat up from his mattress smoking. His hungry watched Sakura's naked body from behind. Initially, he was skeptical about this girl when he saw the scars and bruises on her body but all skepticism was dispelled once Sakura gave herself to him…

-"You could stay, you know." Sai offered. Sakura automatically shook her head.

-"I've got school." Although the thought of school made her roll her eyes, Sakura still had to go. If Toshi were to find out that she was failing then he would punish her even more. Sakura put her dress back on and grabbed her heels.

-"How old are you anyway?" Sai asked, not that the age mattered. Sakura smiled sweetly.

-"I'm 18." She lied.

-"You don't look 18."

-"I look young for my age. Does that even matter?" Sai shook his head and put out his cigarette.

-"Listen, the night is still young. Wanna go out and have some fun?"

-"What kind of fun?"

-"Trouble fun. I'm bored here anyway." Sakura considered it and nodded. She didn't want to go home just yet.

* * *

-**Uchiha Household-**

**Flashback**

-_"Sakura, who is that guy?" Sasuke asked as he watched Gaara's retreating figure. _

_-"None of your business." Sakura answered. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Things have changed so much with Sakura. It started off with little things like how she started wearing dark and baggy clothing. Then she started becoming more secretive and inimical with everybody, including Sasuke. True, he noticed changes a few months after they discovered that Sakura's mother had a new family in America. Sakura became more distant but she was still same girl Sasuke met when they eight years old. _

_He suspected that it had to with associating with Gaara because Sakura started becoming worse once she started hanging out with him instead of the others. Plus, he didn't like Gaara's tattoos, piercings, and not so good reputation. Then he decided to finally ask Sakura in school when Gaara approached them to talk to Sakura. _

_-"What is with you? It was just a simple question."_

_-"Tch. You're so annoying." Sakura sighed. Sasuke chose to say nothing more. They were walking home from school when something they decided to go inside a store to check out some of the items. In the store Sakura saw a beautiful necklace. It was a diamond encrusted silver necklace. _

"_I like this necklace." Sakura told Sasuke. He looked over Sakura's shoulder to see the necklace and then glanced that price tag._

_-"Whoa, that's expensive." Sakura raised an eyebrow. She lowered her voice. _

_-"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Sasuke was puzzled while Sakura glanced in all directions. The she carefully grabbed the necklace and in a sly motion, she put it in her backpack. Sasuke watched in astonishment that Sakura was actually stealing! "Let's go." Sakura motioned. Sasuke was rooted to where he was standing. Before he thought about possibly taking another step to follow Sakura, a big and thunderous voice bellowed._

_-"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" A heavy yet muscular man pulled Sakura back by the strap of her backpack and jerked her to face him. Sakura yelped in surprise. "How dare you steal from me!"_

_-"I didn't steal anything!" The man raised an eyebrow._

_-"Oh really, is that so? I saw the whole thing and I'm sure there were witnesses." The man, who Sasuke presumed to be the store owner, glanced around until his eyes landed on Sasuke. "You!" Sasuke jumped. _

_-"Y-yes sir?" _

_-"You were here too. Did you see this girl steal the necklace? Better not lie to me." Sasuke gulped. His eyes averted to Sakura who gave him a pleading look. _

_-"I—."_

_-"Before you say anything, you should know that it is also a crime to be an accessory to theft. So I'd think twice before you give me your answer. I have surveillance cameras and I can check this girl's backpack right here and see if the necklace in here. You don't want to go to jail, do you kid?" Sasuke shook his how slowly. "Good. Now answer my question." Sasuke's heart was racing and his mouth was really dry. He can't rat Sakura out but he can't go to jail either. His father would be furious and ground him, or worse; disown him. 'Maybe Sakura will be let off the hook if she just admits it.' It was a long-shot. Sasuke took a deep breath._

_-"Y-yes, sir. I saw her take the necklace." Sasuke didn't dare to look at Sakura's face. He could just feel the hate and betrayal from her eyes bore into his back. The store owner nodded and escorted Sakura to a room. Sasuke clenched his fists and took a quick glance at Sakura who was being led away. She glowered at him so fiercely before looking away. _

_Days later, Sasuke received the news that Sakura was not going to be charged with anything because Toshi was able to pull a few strings with the store owner. Sasuke tried to reach Sakura many times but she never answered her phone or door. She wasn't at school for a while but when she did come back, she refused to be anywhere near him. And then one morning Sasuke found a box addressed to him on his doorstep and it turned out to be the necklace he gave Sakura when they were eight. The necklace that tied them together. The symbol of their friendship. It was then that Sasuke knew that it was Sakura's way of severing ties with him and ending their friendship. And that she obviously wanted nothing to do with him. _

**End Flashback **

Sasuke dangled the necklace in front of his face. He was lying on his bed thinking about the day when he sold Sakura out. He didn't mean to. He was 14 and scared that he was going to get in so much trouble. He never told anyone about that day because he was also worried they his friends were going to blame him for making Sakura not want to talk to them anymore. But even after all these years, Sasuke still kept the necklace. He didn't know why did because it seemed obvious that Sakura was not coming around anytime. He let out a sigh and put down the necklace.

-"Sakura….what is going on with you?" He asked no one. His mother told him about what happened this morning with Sakura and she advised him to keep a closer eye on Sakura. But Mikoto was deliberately vague about what she told Sasuke. She was careful not to mention what Sakura said about her father. _Bzzz. Bzzzzz._

-"Hello?" Sasuke answered his phone.

-"Oi, teme! I have to tell you something!" Naruto yelled through the phone. Sasuke winced.

-"You don't have to be so loud. What is it?"

-"It's about Sakura-chan! I overheard some people talking and they were saying that a few guys and a pink-haired girl were up to no good in some part of town."

-"Yeah, so?" Sasuke tried to act cool but inside he was worried.

-"Well I don't have my car on me but you do! Go help Sakura-chan! If the police catch her then she'll get in huge trouble!"

-"Why me? In case you haven't noticed, Sakura hates our guts. If she wants to do stupid stuff then let her."

-"Teme, even if she does hate us, she's still our friend. And as friends, we're supposed to be there for each other through the good and the bad." Sasuke's fingers brushed against the picture of him and Sakura as kids. In the picture, they were laughing about something. Sasuke had his eyes closed and he was clutching onto stomach, and Sakura was holding onto him by his jacket but laughing as well with her sweet smile and rosy cheeks. He couldn't remember what they were laughing about.

-"Okay, tell me where they were last seen."

* * *

Sakura watched from the side as Sai and a few other people were spray painting some building. The wind blew and Sakura shivered so she crossed her arms and rubbed them. Even with the clothes that Sai lent her, she was still cold because they were too short and revealing At first, she was excited to come along with Sai but she felt so uneasy about all of this. The last time she did anything crime-related was when she was 14 years old and she came so close to actually being charged and going to jail. Luckily, Toshi pulled a few strings and was able to let Sakura off the hook. Well, at least with the police. At home, she was punished harder than before. That's why she took her time to come back to school. She needed the time to physically heal.

-"Sai, I want to go home." Sakura finally spoke up. Sai ignored her. "Tch, whatever." Sakura got up from where she was sitting. She could try to find her way back on her own….

* * *

-"Dammit!" Sakura stomped her foot. "How could I be so stupid?" She asked herself when she realized that she forgot to bring money with her for a bus or train. Her phone was also dead so she couldn't call Gaara for a ride. It was dark out that Sakura didn't see where she was going and tripped over rock. Her cheek scraped against some random shards of glass on the ground. "Great. This is just great!" Sakura felt the blood ooze out of the cut on her cheek. She bit her lip. "I need money. But how? Unless…" Sleeping with random people for money was something she never did before because she was too scared to do it. Sai wasn't exactly a random guy because she met him before at a party. This time, she could actually get killed.

-"Suck it up, Sakura." She told herself. "What have you got to lose anyway?" She brushed the dirt off her clothes and kept a lookout for incoming cars. She stuck out her thumb like some hitchhiker in hopes that someone will actually stop. Ten minutes later, she almost gave up when she saw headlights in the distance. _'Here's my chance'_ Sakura waved her hands around until the car slowed down and then stopped. Sakura grabbed her jacket and got into the car. _'Keep calm.'_ It was still dark out so Sakura couldn't see the man's face which was fine with her.

-"Sakura?" Her eyes widened. That voice was way too familiar.

-"Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura practically shrieked. Now she was panicking. What was Kakashi going to do to her now?

-"I figured it was you when I saw the pink hair. That's why I stopped." Kakashi said. He, himself, was still trying to get over the shock that this 16-year-old girl was hitchhiking on the side of the road. "What are you doing out so late? And alone. You know, it's dangerous for a girl like you to be out. There are many creeps out there."

-"I can handle myself."

-"Obviously not. What if I was someone else ? Good thing I found you instead of someone who was—."

-"Expecting sex? Yeah, well that was what I was hoping for." Sakura mumbled. "I need money."

-"Sakura…"

-"Look, can we just skip the small talk? Do you want to give me money 'cause I can just get out of this car and find someone else." Sakura was starting to get impatient. Not because she was angry but because she was scared of what was going to happen. She would have a preferred a stranger over her teacher. Kakashi relaxed his shoulders.

-"I'm just trying to help." Sakura's head snapped up.

-"You said you want to help me, right? Then fuck me. Come on…I'm practically throwing myself at you with almost no clothes." Sakura felt her whole body shake as she tried to take off her shirt but Kakashi grabbed hold of her hands to stop her.

-"My god Sakura….I'm not going to sleep with you for money." Sakura bit her lip to not cry but she couldn't help it. Great sobs wracked her body and she kept shaking.

-"Why not? Am I not good enough for you?" She asked through her tears. Kakashi put his arms around her and hugged her tight. At first Sakura resisted but then she relaxed into his arms. It has been a long time since someone hugged her so lovingly. Toshi only hugged her when he was drunk.

-"Calm down." He spoke softly. "Do you want me to take you home?" Sakura shook her furiously and cried harder. "Okay okay…shh. Alright, I won't take you home. I'll take you to my house instead. It's not that far from here. Is that okay?" Sakura nodded slowly.

-"Yeah." She replied meekly. Kakashi gave her one last squeeze before he started the car again and drove back to his apartment.

* * *

Sasuke stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He was debating whether to approach Sai and his gang. He already knows Sai by his reputation. Moreover, his older brother, Itachi, has also warned him about Sai. _'Do it for Sakura.' _He thought to himself even though he could see that Sakura wasn't around.

-"Hey." Sasuke tapped Sai on the shoulder. Sai turned for a moment and raised an eyebrow.

-"What do you want?"

-"Is Sakura Haruno here?" Sasuke asked. Sai looked at Sasuke before blowing smoke from his cigarette into his face.

-"Who wants to know?"

-"Sasuke Uchiha."

-"An Uchiha, eh? Wow, Sakura sure gets around." Sasuke gritted his teeth. How dare he speak of Sakura like that. "Anyway, she's not here. She left like an hour ago."

-"Where to?"

-"Who knows? Home, maybe. She wouldn't stop whining about wanting to go home so she just went off."

-"By herself?!" Sai nodded but then turned away. He was done talking to the Uchiha.

-"Which way?" Sai shrugged.

-"What do I get out of telling you?" He smirked. Sasuke glared at Sai but nonetheless handed him a $50 bill. "That way." Sai pointed in the direction that he last saw Sakura walking off to.

-"Hn." _'She's walking so she couldn't have gotten far in one hour.'_

* * *

**-Kakashi's Apartment-**

Sakura sat motionless in the bathtub. Kakashi fixed her up a warm bath to wash off all the dirt on her body. He didn't say much to her when they got back to his apartment but he was still nice to her. There was no hostility towards despite what happened in his car. _'Why is he helping me? I was such a bitch to him in school…_' There was a knock at the door. Kakashi opened the door and laid down some towels and clothes on top of the toilet seat.

-"Don't worry, I'm not looking." He assured her. "I don't have any girls' clothing so I'm giving you have a t-shirt that I have. It should be big enough for you. What shall I do with your—er—outfit?" He asked, meaning the slutty outfit that Sai gave Sakura.

-"Throw them away. They weren't mine anyway." Sakura answered. Kakashi nodded and close the door behind him.

-"This might sting a little." Kakashi said as he sprayed a bit of anti-septic on Sakura's cut. She didn't wince or cry in pain. She was used to sting from it from all the times she cut herself. After he cleaned the cut, Kakashi placed on band-aid on it. "There. Now it doesn't look so bloody." Sakura nodded absentmindedly. She looked around the apartment.

-"So clean." She murmured. "Oh sorry…I didn't mean to say that out loud."

-"No, it's okay." Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah I'm surprised it's so clean too since it's just me. You know, a man."

-"You're all by yourself?"

-"Mhm."

-"Oh. I thought that maybe you would have had some girlfriend or something."

-"Well Sakura, that just comes to show there's some things you don't know about me either." Sakura didn't say anything else. Was this Kakashi's way of telling her that he understands why she is so secretive about thing?

-"So no girlfriend?"

-"Nope."

-"That explains the perverted novels." Sakura pointed to the erotic novels on the coffee table. Kakashi sweat dropped. He snatched up the novels and put them on the bookshelf.

-"Leisure reading! And they're not mine!" He stammered. Sakura snorted but then burst out into laughter.

-"Okay." She smiled but then it decreased. Kakashi cleared this throat.

-"Ahem. Well you should get some sleep. You have school."

-"School? But I don't have clothes. Or my backpack. And…and….I'm not ready." Sakura looked up at Kakashi.

-"We'll talk about it in the morning. For now, get some rest." Kakashi handed Sakura some sheets to put on the mattress he laid out on the floor. After she set up the sheets, Sakura snuggled into bed.

-"Kakashi-sensei?"

-"Hm?"

-"About today—in the car—I—."

-"You don't have to talk about it. Really. Tell me when you 're ready." Kakashi smiled through his mask.

-"Oh ok."

-"Good night!" Kakashi shut off the light.

-"I'm sorry." Sakura blurted. "For what I said in school. I am so sorry." Kakashi turned the light back on.

-"I'm sorry too. I should've been a bit more sensitive with the way I broached the subject. Like I said, we'll talk about it in the morning." Sakura nodded sleepily before closing her eyes drifting off to sleep.

* * *

-"No dobe, I couldn't find her anywhere. The Sai asshole told me that she went off on her own when she wanted to go home." Sasuke told Naruto through the phone.

-"Did you look everywhere else?"

-"I drove up and down the street that she supposedly walked on."

-"Maybe she was able to make it back home. I don't know…maybe she took the bus. Check on her tomorrow." Naruto suggested.

-"What, you mean go to her house? Are you crazy? She looked like she was ready to kill me when I found her coming out of my house."

-"Just do it, teme! It's the only way you'll know that she made it home safe." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his noise and let out an annoyed sigh.

-"Fine. I got to go now. I have to pay for my stuff." Sasuke hung up the phone. After searching for about an hour, he stopped at a gas station to get some snacks. He paid the cashier but moved to the side to put his change back into his wallet.

-"Uchiha."

-"What?" Sasuke looked up from his wallet but almost dropped it.

-"Gaara." He said with disgust. Gaara grimaced at him.

-"Sakura. What happened to her?"

* * *

**To be Continued…**

* * *

**A/N: **Hey everyone….*nervous laughter* well I decided to update Lonesome Girl because I actually really like this story want to get a move on with it. Is anyone still reading it? I hope so. Anyway, I'll try to update again soon. You see, I stopped writing this story because I had major's writing block and just couldn't bring myself to writing anything interesting for this chapter. But then I had some inspiration! ^_^ By the way, if you readers can do me a favor and vote for which story I should do after I finish this story, that would be great!

**Story Ideas **

**If You Had the Chance**: She disappeared two years ago but then came back. There was just one catch. Her memory was gone. "This is your chance Teme! Maybe now you can set things right with Sakura-chan." **SasuSaku Romance/Drama**

**Sore Ga Ai Deshou (I Guess That's Love)**: Hi, I'm sakura Haruno! There's three things you should know about me. 1: I have Pink Hair. 2: I work for a hot, sadistic jerk named Sasuke Uchiha. And 3: I think I'm falling in love with him...CRAP! **Romance/Comedy**

**Music to My Ears**: Meet Sasuke Uchiha, a musical virtuoso who lives in his own little world where music only exists. What if during one of his concerts, he meets a deaf girl named Sakura Haruno? Can a boy who devotes his whole life to music fall in love with a girl who doesn't even know what the sound of music is? And they say the sound falls on deaf ears is only an expression...**Romance/Drama**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

**Here's a preview of the next chapter: **Chapter 5

_-"There's a phone call for you, Sakura." Kakashi told her. Sakura look at him questioningly. Who would be calling her? _

_-"Ok." Kakashi handed her the phone and left the room. Sakura put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"_

_-"Sakura?"_

_-"Mom?!"_


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

**Chapter 5**

**Recap:**

_-"Uchiha."_

_-"What?" Sasuke looked up from his wallet but almost dropped it._

_-"Gaara." He said with disgust. Gaara grimaced at him._

_-"Sakura. What happened to her?"_

**End Recap.**

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. This was the first time that Gaara has ever spoken to him directly. But there he was…dressed in all black, with his black eyeliner, piercings, and that one tattoo on his forehead. Gaara kept staring at him with his intense green eyes.

-"None of your concern." Sasuke replied casually. Gaara's brow furrowed. He never imagined that he would actually be talking to Sasuke Uchiha. He knew that he and Sakura were best friends at some point but something happened that she stopped talking to him all together. Gaara knew that it was in his best interest to not ask. That was a good thing about his friendship with Sakura. They knew when not keep prying on their private lives.

-"She's my friend." Gaara said. Sasuke felt his blood boil.

-"If you really were her friend then you would know where she is or if she's even alive." He shot back.

-"I'm her friend, not a stalker to know her every move. Besides, last I heard, you two aren't friends anymore. Why do you care?" Gaara retorted.

-"Shut up." Sasuke snarled. He put his wallet back into his pocket and headed towards the exit. Gaara watched him away.

-"Uchiha…you need to stay from her. She doesn't want you anymore."

* * *

-**Next Morning-**

-"I'm not going." Sakura declared when she walked into the kitchen. Kakashi looked up from his newspaper.

-"Why's that?"

-"Kakashi-sensei, look at me." Sakura pointed to the over-sized t-shirt he lent her last night. "And I don't have my backpack or stuff."

-"It's still early. I can drive you to your house and you can get ready."

-"But—."

-"No 'buts' Sakura. This is your education and I'm not letting you throw it all away. Especially since you're on the verge of failing." Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from cursing Kakashi out.

-"Can I at least be given pants or something?"

The first thing Sakura did when Kakashi stopped in front her house was make sure that her father's car was not in the driveway. _'Good. He's at work.' _Sakura inwardly sighed in relief.

-"I'll be right." She told Kakashi.

-"Take your time. We still have about an hour." Sakura entered her house and immediately went to her bedroom. But she was shocked when she entered her room. It was completely trashed. Her furniture was thrown about, glass figurines were broken, pillows ripped up, and much of her stuff was all over the floor.

-"Shit. He knows I wasn't home." Sakura quickly grabbed a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie and put them on. The she slung her backpack over her left shoulder and ran back outside. Kakashi was still sitting in the car reading one of his erotic books.

-"You ready?" He asked without looking up.

-"Yeah." Sakura tried to cover up the nervousness in her voice. The image of her destroyed bedroom plagued her mind. Toshi must be really furious. _'What is he going to do me? Oh god…please let him just hit me. I'd rather get hit with the belt or punched than him being inside me all over again…' _Sakura's breathing became uneven so she gripped the door handle to calm herself down. Kakashi noticed her odd behavior.

-"Are you okay?"

-"I'm fine." She snapped. "Just please stop asking questions." Kakashi did what she told him.

* * *

-**Konoha High School-**

Gaara waited for Sakura at her locker. He leaned against it with his backside, leg propped up, and arms crossed. He was earlier than usual but he wanted to be there before Sakura was to make sure that she was okay. Even if he was emotionless sometimes, he still cared deeply about her. She was quiet, private, and sometimes aggressive when she was angry but she never judged him. He was always the subject of rumors because of the way he dressed and how he acted. Sakura was the only one willing to be openly friends with him. He could confide in her in just about everything. A few moments later, Gaara spotted his pink-haired friend.

-"Yo. How was last night?" He asked. Sakura waved at him and then opened her locker.

-"Fine. He and his friends decided to go spray paint some building but I got bored so I left. No big deal." Gaara noticed the band-aid on her cheek.

-"What happened there." He voice got hard then. "Did Sai hit you? Or your dad?" Sakura touched her cheek.

-"This? No, me being my clumsy self,tripped over a rock and I scraped it against the ground. Like I said, no big deal." Sakura shrugged her shoulders.

-"Hn. So listen, my siblings are going out tonight. Want to sleepover or something? We can watch sappy movies and gag over them."

-"Will food be involved?"

-"Of course."

-"Then I'm in! Just text me and we can meet after class." Sakura smiled. Gaara smiled softly back but then noticed Sasuke Uchiha eying them from across the hall. _'Tch. Asshole.' _He leaned in closer to Sakura's face.

-"How about we ditch school instead? We can go to our hang out spot and smoke." Gaara felt satisfied when he saw how Sasuke was seething. Neji, Shikamaru, and Naruto gave Gaara dirty looks as well.

-"I can't. Kakashi says if I keep ditching then I'll fail the year. Or get kicked out."

-"Aw, is Sakura-_chan _getting soft now? I thought you didn't care about school." Gaara teased. Sakura scoffed and ruffled his hair.

-"I don't care but Toshi does. He'll crucify me if I get kicked out of school. It's the only way to "keep me out of trouble", he says. Besides, if you don't care about school either then why are you still here?"

-"I'm forced to go because of my probation. But my probation officer is cool. He'll give me a few days in which I don't have to go to school."

-"Kiss-ass." Sakura joked. Gaara chuckled. "I have to go. See ya!" Sakura gave Gaara a hug before going off to class.

* * *

**-Lunchtime-**

-"Man, this line is way too long." Naruto groaned his stomach rumbling. He was waiting in line to get lunch but since today happened to be a popular dish, there were extra students in line. He looked over at his lunch table where Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru and a few girls were sitting. He practically gagged when he saw how Ino was all over Sasuke and trying to flirt with him. Naruto could tell that Sasuke was annoyed by that. For some reason unknown to Naruto, Sasuke never showed interest in any girl. He only focused on his studies and stuck to his close circles of friends which consisted of the guys.

Naruto looked away from his table and smiled when he saw who was standing behind him in line. It was Sakura. But his smile dropped when he saw that Gaara was right behind her. She stood there casually, with her arms crossed and a bored look on her face.

-"Hey Sakura-chan." Naruto greeted. Sakura nodded. "This sure is a long line! But it's ramen so of course there are a lot of people in line. Ramen is awesome!"

Silence.

-"Hey, remember the time when teme dared me to eat 10 bowls of ramen and—?"

-"I've forgotten how much you talk." Sakura said, deadpan. The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched. Gaara snickered.

-"I'm just trying to talk…"

-"Yeah, well….don't. And can you please tell Uchiha to stop staring at me? It's sickening." Sakura hooked her thumb over in Sasuke's direction where he was clearly watching them. Ino was glaring daggers at her.

-"His girlfriend doesn't seem too pleased either." Gaara added. Naruto ignored him.

-"You know Sakura-chan, it's not too late to come back to us. We always have room at our table and we all miss you very much." Naruto tried to smile.

-"What do I have to do to get you off my case? God Naruto, you're like a puppy who still comes back even after he was kicked. I have no interest in coming back to your stupid little group. Stop acting like I'm like the same Sakura because guess what! I'm not!" Sakura yelled. She paused when she saw that everyone around her was staring at her. Gaara gave them the death glare to keep them from staring. "And suddenly I'm not hungry anymore. Let's go Gaara." She and Gaara left the cafeteria together leaving a stunned Naruto behind. He was speechless and turned his head over to his table. Sasuke was shaking his head as if to say, 'I told you so.'

-"Heh, I never that dickhead would shut up. You sure showed him!" Gaara guffawed. He wouldn't stop laughing as soon as they left the cafeteria. "What an idiot."

-"Stop." Sakura said. Gaara's laughter ceased. "Just stop talking about it."

-"I was just saying—."

-"Yeah I know what you were saying. Just please…" Sakura took a deep breath. "Stop. You can talking shit about Uchiha anytime you want but don't say anything about Naruto."

-"Why not? You just did."

-"Are you trying to piss me off? Because if you are, I'm leaving. I'll just go have lunch somewhere else. Class starts soon anyway." Sakura was preparing to go in the other direction but Gaara grabbed her hand to bring her back.

-"No, I'm sorry. I won't talk about Uzumaki again." Sakura took her hand away from Gaara but she nodded anyway. "Just one thing…I thought you didn't like him?"

-"I don't. But—just forget it. I don't want to get into this."

* * *

**-Kakashi's Class-**

After lunch, students who are in Kakashi's next class piled into the classroom. Most of the students consisted of Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Sakura. Unfortunately for Sakura, Gaara was not in that class. He was in the class next door with Asuma-sensei. Sakura took her time walking to Kakashi's class. She absolutely loathed that class not because she disliked Kakashi. She just happened to dislike her classmates and they disliked her as well.

-"Hey forehead girl!" Ino sneered when Sakura walked through the door. _'Just ignore her. She's a bitch anyway.' _"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Sakura sat down at her desk, putting her backpack on top. Ino clenched her teeth.

-"Whatever. Whore." She flipped her blonde hair. "All I want to say is stay from Sasuke-kun." Sakura clenched her teeth.

-"I am. It's him who won't leave me alone."

-"Oh please! Sasuke-kun is a gentleman. He would never be interested in disgusting rats like you with a humongous forehead." Sakura smirked.

-"You're right. He's more into pigs."

-"What the fuck did you just say?!" Ino demanded ready to attack Sakura.

-"You heard me, and if you don't want a bloody nose then I suggest you stay away from me."

**XXX**

Sasuke overheard everything that was going on between Ino and Sakura so he shot up from his seat to intervene. Neji put his hand on Sasuke's chest and push him back down to his seat.

-"It's probably better that you don't get involved."

-"I guess."

**XXX**

-"Ow, my nose!" Ino screeched immediately clamping her hands over nose to stop the bleeding. "You broke my nose!" All the students sat in their seats unwilling to move but watched the scene in front of them unfold. Sakura pulled back her fists and sat back down.

-"I told you to stay away from me."

-"What is going on in here!" Kakashi demanded, closing the classroom door behind him. _'I'm 5 minutes late and there's already blood on my floor!' _He glanced at Ino. "Ino, what in the world happened to you?" Ino opened her mouth to tell Kakashi everything but someone else cut her off.

-"She fell, sensei." Shikamaru answered. Ino shot him a dirty look.

-"Is that really what happened?" Kakashi asked the rest of the class. A few students exchanged looks and then over at Sakura before facing the teacher.

-"Y-yes." They all answered, including Naruto and Neji. They were too afraid to face Sakura's wrath if they were to tattle on her.

-"What about you Sasuke? Do you agree with what just happened?" Sasuke inwardly cursed at him. _'Dammit. Why do I have to be brought into this?' _Sakura let out a sigh. _'I guess I better prepare myself to get expelled. He's going to rat me out again…' _

-"I don't know, Kakashi-sensei. I wasn't paying attention." Sasuke answered. Sakura froze. Did she really hear what just heard? Kakashi nodded.

-"Alright then. Come on, Ino. Let's get you to the nurse's office."

-"But—!" Ino tried to say but the pain from her nose prevented her from doing so. Kakashi led her out of the classroom and the nurse's office. Sakura glanced at Sasuke for a brief second. He too glanced back at her and smiled a half smiled. Sakura's eyes averted to the floor and then turned her head away.

**XXX**

-"Sakura, can you come here for a moment?" Kakashi asked when the bell rang.

-"Oooh…" A few students murmured as they left the classroom. Sakura gulped. _'Did Ino tell the truth?' _

-"Yes Kakashi—er Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura slowly made her way up to his desk. Kakashi waited until he was sure that every was out of the room and out of earshot.

-"You didn't turn in your homework." Sakura let out a big sigh of relief. So…she was in _that _kind of trouble.

-"Yeah…I forgot." She answered plainly.

-"Were you planning on turning it any time soon?" Sakura avoided his gaze.

-"Not really…" She mumbled.

-"Hmm, I see. Well I don't plan on having you fail this year so this is what we're going to do. You're going to stay right here and finish it before you go home." Sakura's eyes widened.

-"But it's the end of the school day! I shouldn't be forced to stay after!"

-"You should've thought about that before you decided to skip all your assignments." Kakashi smiled sympathetically. "This isn't punishment, Sakura. I'm trying to help you. If you stay after school every day and finish your assignments, then that could save you from failing. I am willing to still give you credit for every single one." Sakura looked at him skeptically.

-"What's the catch?"

-"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

-"C'mon, why are you really helping me? Are you and the other teachers making some sort of bet over who can "help" me? The school's charity case."

-"No, there's no bet. I promise."

-"I still don't see what I get out of this. I really don't care if I fail the year."

-"If you don't fail then you won't have to see my face again next year." Kakashi winked. Sakura grinned.

-"Sounds tempting….alright fine. But I don't want anyone knowing about this." Sakura warned.

-"I'll keep it a secret from the other students. Now shall we get started? You have too many assignments to make up. I don't see how you managed to pass your first two years of high school."

-"Shut it."

**XXX**

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Chew. _Sakura couldn't sit still in her seat. The questions on her math homework were just way too hard. _'Damn. I hate__algebra…'_ Sakura started shaking her leg underneath her desk. Glancing up at the clock, she was annoyed that it was still early and she wasn't even halfway done with her homework. _Ringgg. Rinnggg. _Kakashi picked up the phone that was attached to the wall.

-"Hello, Kakashi Hatake's class." He answered. A look of surprise came on face, then his he glanced over at Sakura. "There's a phone call for you, Sakura." He told her. Sakura looked at him questioningly. Who would be calling her?

-"Ok." Kakashi handed her the phone and left the room. Sakura put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

-"Sakura?"

-"Mom?!" It may have been eight years but she still recognized the sound of her mother's voice. The voice that would soothe her when she was scared or after he father had beat her.

-"Oh honey! I am so glad that I finally got a hold of you!" Sonomi exclaimed. Sakura stayed silent. This couldn't be happening. "Hello Sakura? Are you there, sweetie? Please say something." Sakura slammed the phone down. Tears of anger streamed down her face. She gripped the phone as hard as she could.

-"What the hell?" She said in a low voice. She jumped a little when she heard Kakashi's footsteps coming back. She swiftly sat back down in her seat and wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

-"Who was it?" Kakashi asked.

-"Somebody from my dad's work. They called just to ask me something about him." Sakura lied. It was a horrible lie but Kakashi seemed to believe it.

-"Is it just you and your father, Sakura?"

-"Yeah."

-"What about your mother? Did she die, if you don't mind me asking? After all, I've only seen and heard of your father."

-"You could say that." Sakura mumbled.

-"I am sorry to hear that." Kakashi said softly. Sakura nodded and went back to doing her schoolwork. After about another hour, Kakashi allowed her to finally go home.

* * *

Gaara sat on the couch by the window. Every few minutes, he looked out his window in hopes that he would see Sakura coming up to his house. He was excited about the plans they made together. He even got the movies in advance and already circled the choices of toppings for their pizza on the pizza menu. Gaara looked out the window one more time before taking out his cell phone to text her.

**Where are you?**

Not even a minute later Sakura replied with:

**Something came up. I'll talk to you later.**

Gaara snapped his phone shut. His eyes were filled with mild sadness but then he felt concerned. _'I hope she's okay…'_

* * *

Sakura wiped the blood away from her mouth. She slowly limped her way back to her room where her room was still a mess. Sakura knew she was in for it when she returned home and saw Toshi waiting for her in the living room. He was slightly drunk so his beatings weren't that bad than usual. Luckily for Sakura, he took is easy on her by not taking advantage of her body….

Sakura stepped into her shower and stood there. She let the warm water wash away her tears, sweat, and blood off her body. Showers always made her feel better. It was as if the water washed away her troubles and she could actually think to herself for a second. She felt bad that she ditched Gaara like that but she needed to be alone. '_It had to be some sort of prank…it has to be. She abandoned me years ago.' _

A few minutes, Sakura turned off the shower and dried herself off with a towel. Her body ached and her fresh scars still stung a little. After putting on some fresh pajamas, Sakura snuggled underneath her covers. She didn't bother to clean her room. She only picked up the broken pieces of glass, the rest she was waiting to do it another time. Although she felt tired, Sakura couldn't sleep. There were just too many thought floating in her head. Sakura sighed and kicked back her covers. She got out of bed and decided to watch the stars from her balcony. The one thing that Sakura liked about her bedroom was the French doors leading to the balcony.

It was absolutely beautiful to her when she was little because she felt like a princess waiting for her prince to come. Years ago, Sasuke would sneak out of his house and climb onto the balcony to have his secret talks with Sakura. It was fun and all until Sakura stopped waiting for him at night. Night after night, Sakura locked the doors and drew the curtains knowing perfectly well that Sasuke was waiting for her. Eventually, he stopped coming and Sakura regretted it but it was better that way. Sakura leaned over the railing of her balcony and stared up at the moon and stars. _'I wonder if she's looking at up the same sky as I am…but then again, she's in America. It's probably morning over there.' _She stood there for a few minutes before deciding that it was time to go back inside. Sakura whipped around when she heard twigs snap and the sound of footsteps approaching her balcony. That sound was way too heavy to be an animal so Sakura knew it was a person.

-"Who there's? Show yourself!" Sakura called out. She tried to sound brave but her voice quivered a little. She looked down and saw the shadow of the person getting closer and closer…_ 'If anything happens, just scream! Scream as loud as you can.' _Sakura told herself. The shadow came closer until it was no longer a shadow. The moon's light shone on the shadow revealing the identity of the person. Sakura gasped.

-"What are you doing here?" She demanded angrily.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**A/N: **Yay! I was able to update in faster time! I actually like this story and I have so many ideas for future chapters. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to reading your reviews. By the way, if you readers can do me a favor and vote for which story I should do after I finish this story that would be great! Just let me know in your review.

**Story Ideas**

**If You Had the Chance****: She disappeared two years ago but then came back. There was just one catch. Her memory was gone. "This is your chance Teme! Maybe now you can set things right with Sakura-chan." ****SasuSaku Romance/Drama**

**Sore Ga Ai Deshou (I Guess That's Love)****: Hi, I'm sakura Haruno! There's three things you should know about me. 1: I have Pink Hair. 2: I work for a hot, sadistic jerk named Sasuke Uchiha. And 3: I think I'm falling in love with him...CRAP! ****Romance/Comedy**

**Music to My Ears****: Meet Sasuke Uchiha, a musical virtuoso who lives in his own little world where music only exists. What if during one of his concerts, he meets a deaf girl named Sakura Haruno? Can a boy who devotes his whole life to music fall in love with a girl who doesn't even know what the sound of music is? And they say the sound falls on deaf ears is only an expression...****Romance/Drama**

**PLEASE REVIEW**

**Here's a preview to the next chapter: **Chapter 6

_-"The Sakura Haruno you knew is gone. Why can't you understand that? She's gone! Ruined…shattered…broken. Every bit of that girl who used to exist is no longer here. I'm a different person because that girl was taken the second Toshi—."_

_-"Beat you? Yeah I know, Sakura-chan. Remember? I've kept your secret all these years without telling anyone because we were friends. Now you owe me."_

_-"I don't owe you anything."_

_-"You owe me at least a chance to talk to you!" Naruto yelled. _


End file.
